Written questions by Wrigley.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with the zoo sector on the potential impact of the UK's decision to leave the European Union on international breeding programmes.

Defra acknowledges the challenges faced by zoos and aquariums in Great Britain in transferring animals between GB and the European Union (EU) following the UK's exit from the European Union. The Department is in regular dialogue with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), addressing trade concerns and works closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to prioritise and support these movements, particularly where there are welfare concerns or implications for breeding programmes. Defra remains committed to supporting zoos and aquariums in their conservation efforts by minimising trade barriers and addressing stakeholder concerns, thereby facilitating the smooth movement of animals between GB and the EU. An example of successful collaboration is the Department's recent work with BIAZA to develop a new system for ensuring the export of microchipped captive birds, including endangered species, to the EU. This initiative has played a key role in reinstating bird conservation programs previously impacted by EU regulations.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring large pharmacies to hold several months of reserve stock of medication.

Pharmacies are independent businesses and are expected to maintain a reasonable stock holding to meet their legal obligations to dispense all prescriptions with reasonable promptness, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine.Most pharmacies do not have space to hold several months of stock and such stock holding would come with a financial risk to the pharmacy as stock may expire. There are therefore no plans to require pharmacies to hold reserve stock of medication.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the shortage of quetiapine modified-release tablets on Bipolar patients.

The Department has made no such assessment. We are aware of supply issues affecting several brands and tablet strengths of quetiapine modified release tablets. Following the Department working with suppliers, there have been improvements in supply through February and early March 2025, with improvements in supply expected to continue through to May 2025, and full resolution expected in October 2025. The Department continues to work with the suppliers of quetiapine modified -release tablets to bring forward these future deliveries. Working with National Health Service specialists we have provided comprehensive management advice for this supply issue, advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients during this time. Any patient who is worried about their condition, or access to these medications, should speak to their clinician in the first instance.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of special school places available in Devon.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Devon County Council is being allocated over £125 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £8.9 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is a 7.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.Additionally, we have announced £740 million of capital for high needs funding in 2025/26. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding later in the spring.Regarding special school places, in 2023 the department for the first time collected data from local authorities on capacity in special schools, SEND units and resourced provision in mainstream schools. This data is published at local authority level in the annual school capacity publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity. The latest available data shows that, as at 1 May 2023, there were approximately 1,830 special school places and 86 SEN Unit and resourced provision places in mainstream schools in Devon.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils SEND, sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the NHS to offer pocket-sized trauma cards for patients to show during appointments.

There are currently no plans to assess the potential merits of introducing trauma cards in the National Health Service.

If she will make a comparative assessment of the rate of Beer Duty (a) in the UK and (b) in Europe.

There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries, with some countries having lower alcohol duty rates and some having higher rates.

If she will offer indefinite right to remain for Ukrainians on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme opened to applications on 4 February 2025, which enables Ukrainians in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes to apply for a further 18 months’ temporary permission to remain in the UK.We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine to assist in the rebuilding of the country. It is important our approach respects these wishes.This is why the temporary sanctuary Ukraine visa Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK.There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements.

Innovation and Technology, if he will have discussions with (a) the hon. Member for Newton Abbott, (b) Devon County Council, (c) Project Gigabit and (d) Airband on improving broadband speeds in (i) Ideford, (ii) Newton Abbot, (iii) Ashburton, (iv) Teignmouth, (v) Ipplepen, (vi) Holcombe and (vii) Dawlish.

The hon. Member has recently met with Openreach and my officials in Building Digital UK (BDUK) and my officials are in the process of organising a further meeting with the hon. Member to discuss broadband connectivity across his constituency in greater detail.

Whether she plans to make additional increases in (a) funding and (b) placements for special schools in Devon .

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Devon County Council is being allocated over £125 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £8.9 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is a 7.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.Additionally, we have announced £740 million of capital for high needs funding in 2025/26. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding later in the spring.Regarding special school places, in 2023 the department for the first time collected data from local authorities on capacity in special schools, SEND units and resourced provision in mainstream schools. This data is published at local authority level in the annual school capacity publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity. The latest available data shows that, as at 1 May 2023, there were approximately 1,830 special school places and 86 SEN Unit and resourced provision places in mainstream schools in Devon.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils SEND, sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the level of (a) training, (b) standards and (c) pay required for (i) staff and (ii) clerks following local government restructuring.

There has been no assessment made of the level of: (a) training, (b) standards and (c) pay required for (i) staff and (ii) clerks following local government restructuring. Local authorities are independent employers, responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces, including training, management and pay, and all reorganisation proposals must be led and implemented by individual councils concerned.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to Connecting Devon and Cornwall's news story Airband’s full fibre broadband delivery for CDS scaled back, published on 31 October 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the amendment to Airband’s contract to reduce the number of properties in Somerset and Devon that will receive full fibre broadband.

Last year, Airband and Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) took the decision to descope premises from their Superfast contracts in the region. Approximately 6,000 premises will remain under contract to gain access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection from Airband. Other premises have since been included in suppliers’ commercial rollout, and we are working swiftly to identify alternative solutions for the remaining, approximately 13,000, descoped premises.Eligible descoped premises have been made available for connection via the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. Several projects are currently under review. Any premises that are not included in voucher projects will be considered for inclusion in our Project Gigabit contracts in Devon and Somerset being delivered by the supplier Openreach.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of SEND places in schools in Devon.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Devon County Council is being allocated over £125 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £8.9 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is a 7.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.Additionally, we have announced £740 million of capital for high needs funding in 2025/26. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding later in the spring.Regarding special school places, in 2023 the department for the first time collected data from local authorities on capacity in special schools, SEND units and resourced provision in mainstream schools. This data is published at local authority level in the annual school capacity publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity. The latest available data shows that, as at 1 May 2023, there were approximately 1,830 special school places and 86 SEN Unit and resourced provision places in mainstream schools in Devon.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils SEND, sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding.

What additional SEND (a) funding and (b) assistance has been made available for Devon since 5 July 2024.

As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an additional £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Devon County Council is being allocated over £125 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG). This represents an increase of £8.9 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an increase of 7.7% per head of their 2 to 18 year-old population, against their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.In addition to the DSG, local authorities will also receive a separate core schools budget grant (CSBG), and funding in relation to the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions, in the 2025/26 financial year. The CSBG, alongside other separate grants payable this year, are designed to help special schools and alternative provision with the costs of teachers’ pay and pension increases, as well as other staff pay increases. Individual local authorities’ allocations of this funding for 2025/26 will be published in due course.The department has also been working closely with all statutory partners involved in delivering SEND services in Devon since their local area SEND inspection in May 2022, which found that insufficient progress had been made against the four areas of significant weakness identified during their previous inspection in December 2018.In response to these findings, the department issued an Improvement Notice in September 2022, and an Accelerated Progress Plan was developed with the local authority and integrated care board. In addition, the department and NHS England have both deployed SEND advisers to assist the local area and to offer advice and support.As part of the department’s intervention, there are robust monitoring arrangements in place. The department is holding regular formal monitoring meetings with the local authority and partners to hold the local area to account for making the necessary improvements in services and to consider what further support can be provided as part of our SEND intervention in Devon.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has now also announced £740 million for high needs capital funding in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision.This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND and create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs.We will confirm plans to allocate funding for the 2025/26 financial year later in the spring.

If she will publish the waiting times for (a) SEND assessments, (b) EHCP packages, (c) places at SEND schools and (d) total SEND provision in Devon.

Where a request is made, a local authority must decide within a statutory six-week deadline, unless exceptions apply, whether to conduct an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment for a child or young person. Where appropriate, the local authority must then draw up a plan which names a setting within a statutory twenty-week deadline, unless exceptions apply. In some circumstances the local authority will name a special school on an EHC plan and the school must then admit the pupil. This is the usual way in which a pupil gets a place at such a school.Information relating to the time between the date of a request for an assessment and the date of an assessment outcome at local authority level was released in the answer of 29 July 2024 to Question 2202.The department publishes official statistics on EHC plans annually here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. This includes data at local authority level on the rate of EHC plans issued within the statutory deadline of twenty weeks.The department does not collect information on waiting times for placements for specialist provision.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of assessment times for (a) ADHD, (b) autism and (c) Tourette's syndrome in Devon.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and Tourette’s syndrome, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance where available.Devon ICB advises it is working with local partners as part of One Devon to implement an integrated neurodiversity assessment pathway to reduce the complexity for families and schools seeking assessment. One Devon is also conducting work focused on autism waiting times recovery.Nationally, NHS England has published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which will make recommendations about how to address the challenges faced by those affected by ADHD.

What steps her Department plans to take to increase (a) salaries for and (b) retention of teaching assistants in Devon.

This government values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce, which is why we are reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) through the Employment Rights Bill, introduced in Parliament on 10 October 2024.The SSSNB will mean that employers and employee representatives come together to negotiate terms and conditions and pay for school support staff, to ensure that support staff are properly recognised and rewarded for the work they do. The SSSNB will also be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook and advising on suitable training and career progression routes that recognise the varied and vital roles support staff undertake.The SSSNB will help address the recruitment and retention challenges state-funded schools are facing for support staff. This in turn will support work to drive high and rising standards in schools and ensure we give children the best possible life chances.To support schools with overall costs, this government committed to providing almost £1.1 billion in additional funding in the 2024/25 financial year. Further to this, at the Autumn Budget 2024 the government announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and children and young people with high needs for 2025/26, compared to 2024/25.Most school support staff, including teaching assistants, are currently employed on National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services pay and conditions. The NJC is a negotiating body made up of representatives from trade unions and local government employers. Local government employees covered by the NJC for local government services pay and conditions were offered a flat cash uplift of £1,290 from 1 April 2024. In October 2024 an agreement was reached on the 2024/25 pay award for these employees, which covers the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.Teaching assistants (TAs) play a vital role in children’s education. There are 282,925 full-time equivalent TAs in state-funded schools in England – up by approximately 1,800 since last year. The number of TAs has increased year on year since 2017/18.

If she will provide wage support to the lowest paid teaching (a) staff and (b) assistants in SEND schools in Devon.

This government values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce, which is why we are reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) through the Employment Rights Bill, introduced in Parliament on 10 October 2024.The SSSNB will mean that employers and employee representatives come together to negotiate terms and conditions and pay for school support staff, to ensure that support staff are properly recognised and rewarded for the work they do. The SSSNB will also be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook and advising on suitable training and career progression routes that recognise the varied and vital roles support staff undertake.The SSSNB will help address the recruitment and retention challenges state-funded schools are facing for support staff. This in turn will support work to drive high and rising standards in schools and ensure we give children the best possible life chances.To support schools with overall costs, this government committed to providing almost £1.1 billion in additional funding in the 2024/25 financial year. Further to this, at the Autumn Budget 2024 the government announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and children and young people with high needs for 2025/26, compared to 2024/25.Most school support staff, including teaching assistants, are currently employed on National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services pay and conditions. The NJC is a negotiating body made up of representatives from trade unions and local government employers. Local government employees covered by the NJC for local government services pay and conditions were offered a flat cash uplift of £1,290 from 1 April 2024. In October 2024 an agreement was reached on the 2024/25 pay award for these employees, which covers the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.Teaching assistants (TAs) play a vital role in children’s education. There are 282,925 full-time equivalent TAs in state-funded schools in England – up by approximately 1,800 since last year. The number of TAs has increased year on year since 2017/18.

With reference to comments by President Trump on support for Ukraine, whether he is taking steps to re-allocate funding to domestic (a) procurement, (b) services and (c) other defence expenditure.

The United States is the United Kingdom's primary defence and security ally. Our collaboration in defence is mutually beneficial, and we maintain robust working partnerships in the areas of intelligence, nuclear, science and technology, and operations.The defence sector plays a vital role not only in our national security but also to the prosperity and economic growth of the UK. That is why we are bringing forwards a Defence Industrial Strategy that will review the consideration of sovereign capability and capacity and will align our security and economic priorities.We are determined to achieve a secure, lasting peace in Ukraine, which means putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position to prevent any return to Russian aggression. Since July 2024, the Government has provided over £5.26 billion in military aid and financial support to Ukraine, including a £3 billion annual military aid and a £2.26 billion loan for military spending.

If his Department will publish a breakdown of projected defence spending on US (a) goods, (b) services and (c) land rents in the next five years.

This information is not held in the format requested.

What proportion of the UK defence budget is spent on the procurement of (a) items and (b) services from the US.

This information is not held in the format requested.